Pretty Independent

Though modest, the first Miss Tibet beauty contest proves a media darling

DHARAMSALA, India, 14 October 2002 (NS) –
The terrace of the Om Hotel,beauty queen headquarters, hums with
excitement. Photographers chain-smoke and chatter in French,
English and Hindi. A TV crew is setting up in acorner, but the
contestants, weary from the media attention, have retreated to
their rooms.

It's only an hour before the start of the swimsuit
round, and it's raining. "Oh, my poor girls," laments Lobsang
Wangyal, producer of the Shambala Miss Tibet beauty pageant.
"They are going to freeze." Wangyal stops to bark a question at one
of his assistants: "How are we doing on the judges?"
Moments later a mobile phone rings.
"We got the princess!" shouts his assistant, who has
taken a few days off work at the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and
Democracy to help Wangyal out. He's referring to a royal from Katoch,
a nearby hill station: "She'll be a judge." Wangyal beams and yelps,
"Woo-hooo!" punching his fist in the air. "Four judges and four
contestants." The pageant may not be a disaster after all.

In Tibet, finding the reincarnation of a spiritual leader
requires scouring the country for a child who recognizes his
previous incarnation's possessions. In the northern Indian city of
Dharamsala, seat of the Dali Lama's government-in-exile, crowning
a Miss Tibet may prove almost as hard. For the past year, Wangyal,
a freelance journalist, has been trying to put together a pageant
that will feature Tibetan beauties and also publicize the cause
of Tibetan independence. The reception from community leaders,
however, has been unenthusiastic. Since 1959, when the Dalai Lama
fled Chinese-occupied Tibet, Tibetans in exile have fought to
preserve their traditions. Breaches of custom often are met with
skepticism and fear by the older generation.

And last week's beauty pageant was decidedly nontraditional. None of
the four contestants came from Dharamsala: three hail from refugee
settlements in India and the fourth lives in the U.S. Originally
there were 10, but several dropped out at the last minute —
some, suspects Wangyal, due to social pressure. It didn't help that the
Tibetan Prime Minister publicly denounced the pageant as foreign
and inappropriate. "Our religion is from a foreign country," fumes
Wangyal. "Buddha was Indian. Our food is Chinese, our clothes come
from Mongolia. We have always borrowed from other cultures. A beauty
pageant is just one more thing."

Aside from the low contestant turnout, there was also the small
problem of funding. There was none. Even the winner's gold and
turquoise crown was bought on credit. "There are people with money in
the community," notes Wangyal, "but they are not coming forward."
He asked actor Richard Gere, who visited the Dalai Lama two weeks ago,
for support. "He thought it was a joke, and when he stopped laughing,
he wished me the best of luck."

Tenzin Deki Chokteng, the U.S.-based entrant, is more focused on
the pageant's political aspects. The 19-year-old, who moved to
Colorado from India with her family at 13, acts like a typical
American teen, chewing gum and wearing tight jeans. But she's
proud of her Tibetan heritage and sees the contest as a great way
to get involved: "We were not born in Tibet, we have not suffered
like our parents, so we have to find our own way to be a part of
the cause." As a junior in an American college, she's often asked
where she's from. "I explain that I am Tibetan but that we don't
have our own country anymore. If people hear about this contest,
it will help spread the word about what is going on in Tibet."

Wangyal would like nothing better, but right now he's fixated on
the swimsuit round. The music starts up and the contestants gather
at the pool gate, nervously tugging on their outfits. One by one
they stroll up to the makeshift platform, to pose and pout. Then, in
perilously high heels, they negotiate the cracked flagstone path back
to the gate, only to collapse in nervous giggles. Lhakpa Dolma, 26,
finishes her round with an open-armed shrug and a wry grin. Though
her bathing suit — a demure tank with shorts —
would win few points in an international contest,
she charms the judges with her personality.

By global standards, the pageant would be a catastrophe, but
Wangyal has gained the press coverage he sought. Most importantly,
he has procured a slot for the winner — 19-year-old receptionist
Dolma Tsering — at next month's Miss Tourism World contest in
Colombia. "Our Miss Tibet will stand alongside a Miss China,"
he says. "That's when we will really get our message out that Tibet is
an independent country." The sponsors have waived the entrance fees,
but he still has to find money for airfare and hotel. He shrugs his
shoulders with the optimism that has already gotten him this far:
"Like His Holiness the Dalai Lama says: 'No matter what, never
give up.'"